(PC) Washington v. Sexton ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JAMIEN WASHINGTON, Case No. 1:18-cv-0513-DAD-JLT (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO APPOINT COUNSEL 13 v. (Doc. 61) 14 M. SEXTON, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff has requested the appointment of counsel. The United States Supreme Court has 18 ruled that district courts lack authority to require counsel to represent indigent prisoners in § 1983 19 cases. Mallard v. United States Dist. Court, 490 U.S. 296, 298 (1989). In certain exceptional 20 circumstances, the court may request the voluntary assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 21 1915(e)(1). Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 1991); Wood v. Housewright, 900 22 F.2d 1332, 1335-36 (9th Cir. 1990). In the present case, the court does not find the required 23 exceptional circumstances. Plaintiff’s request for the appointment of counsel will therefore be 24 denied. Accordingly, plaintiff’s request for the appointment of counsel is DENIED. 25 IT IS SO ORDERED. 26 27 Dated: March 17, 2021 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 28